Island



(No Moda.)

J. HOPE, Jr.

2 sheets-sheet 1.

STREET RAILWAY SWITCH FROG. N0. 376,479.

Patented Jannl?, 1888. V'

-III

7 g1/m2244420@ 'A l 851mm @Montego N, PETERS4 Phol'rulhngmpher. wSh'vglan, D. c.

(Nd Model.) 2 sheets-sheet 2.

, J. HOPE, Jr.

STREET RAILWAY SWITCH PROG.

No. 376,479. Patented .Ta-11.17.1888.

vif-Deu [To z UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN HOPE, JR., OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO/VILLIAM V. DABOLL, OF SAME PLACE.

STREET-RAILWAY SWITCH-FROG.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 376,479, dated January17, 1888.

Application tiled March 31, 1887.

T0 aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN HOPE, Jr., of Providence, in the county ofProvidence and StateofRhodelsland,haveinventedcertain new and usef'ulImprovements in Street-Railway Switches and Frogs; and I do herebydeclare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of theinvention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to'make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon,wl1ichform a part of this specification.

Thevobject of'rny invention is to furnish a stationary switch forstreet-railways that will avoid all necessity for movable parts,'whichare liable to get out of order or broken, and thus render the switchinoperative; and my invention consists `in such a switch or double frog,all as more particularly described andset forth.

In theaccompanying drawings, Figure 1 illustratesa plan view of mystationary switch vof two frogs, showing the position of thecarmodification.

Similar letters represent like parts in all the figures.

A A are the rails of the main or straight track, which adjoins thesmaller ends of the two frogsB B'. These frogs increase gradually inwidth from the smaller to the larger end, the flange or tread fof thefrog Bbeingeurved slightly outward to facilitate the guiding of thewheels onto the continuation C of the straight track, which merges intosaid track (Land the straightbranchof the frog B merging intothecontinuation O of the main rail A', the curved branches D D of thefrogsB B merging into the rails E E of the side track. The lowerportions,ff, ofthe frogs gradually increase in width from their smallerto their larger ends, the inner edge g of the part f mergingiuto theinner edge h of the branch rail E, while the inner 4edge g" of the-partfmerges into the inner edge h of the straight rail C. The outer raisedportion or tread 'i ofthe frog B is continuouswith the anges or SerialNo. 233,125. (No model.)

treadsj and k of the main rail A and its continuation C, while the outerflange or tread t" of the frog B is continuous with the trcadsj and 7cofthe rails A and E. The treads Z and Z of 55 the rails E and C startfrom the projecting guides or frogs proper, m m', and these guidesgradually incline from their apices to a few inches beyond the same.rlhcse inclines are for the purpose of preventing the parts pp of 6o theWheels from strikingabruptly against/said projections, and thus injuringthem as well as the wheels. The treads it" are also slightly beveled orinclined at the parts q q opposite the inclines of the guides m m tocorrespond with the inclines on said guides, and the treads iz" are alsocorrespondingly inclined at r rfrom a few inches from the smaller endsofthe frogs to said ends, the parts of treads t' i between said inclinesq r and q' r', respectively, 7o being lower than the treads of the mainrails, so as to allow the car-wheels to ride over the frogs without theparts p p resting upon said treads. This is for the purpose of slidingthe wheels `.readily and with as little friction as v possible on thepartsff of the frogs and from one track to another.

The projecting guides, instead of being triangular, as shown in Figs. l,2, and 3, may be made as shown in Fig. 4, their object being 8o simplyto guide the wheels upon the tracks.

In such case the ends tt of the treads LZ should incline similarly tothe ends of the projecting guides m m', and for the same purpose.

The entire double frog or stationary switch is preferably cast in onepiece, the lower parts, ff, of the rails being formed from part of thebase ofthe casting, as shown in the drawings. This construction avoidsthe necessity of close and careful calculations in the matter of gt- 9cting the curves of the tracks to correspond, and thus avoids the expenseof a skilled workman. It also allows of the frogs being put down in atleast one-fourth the time required to put down two separate frogs.

To make the guides m m moredurable and better able to withstand the wearfrom the carwheels, a portion, n, of the guides at and beyond theirapices may be made of steel welded or riveted into the iron of thefrogs; but I preroo desired to turn onto the side track, the horses areguided to the right, and when the car reaches the frogs the auges o o ofthe righthand wheels will be pressing upon and guided by the side of thetreads or ilangesj z" k', and the parts p of the wheels still resting onthese treads, while the iianges o of the left wheels will have left thetreadsj i of A and B. The left wheels will run for a short distance outheir flanges o over the part f of the frog B, until these wheels areguided by their flanges and the inclined projection m so that the part pof the wheels rides upon the tread l of the rail E. The part p' of theright-hand wheels will at the saine time ride over the tread la of theside rail, E.

If it be desired to run the car on the straight track, the horses areguided to the left, so that the flanges o o ofthe left wheels will hugthe treads j i k of the left track and frog. The ilauges of the rightwheels will run over the part f ofthe frog B', and the part p of theright wheels will be guided by the projection m onto the tread Z of therail C.

By my invention l avoid all necessity for movable tongues and otherparts which are liable to get out of order or broken, and no deep andnarrow grooves are needed, in which dirt and stones may collect, andthus render the switch inoperative, or in which carriagewheels may becaught and broken. As my construction has no movable parts, thenecessity of theservices of a workman for keeping the switch in repairand oiling, cleaning, saiting it, the., is avoided.

Sonie other great advantages of my invention are its simplicityofconstruction, its very moderate cost, and its entire practicability.

lVhenever the casting is made in one piece, there is no necessity ot'using nails or spikes to fasten it down, for the dirt and stones of theroadway can till up the open spaces s s ofthe casting and hold the saniefirmly in place.

Vhat Iclairn as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. A switclrfrog forastreetrailway,having its lower portion, upon whichthe flange of the wheel is adapted to run, made with its upper surfaceon thc same level throughout its entire length and gradually wideneduntil it reaches the projecting guide or frog proper, said guide beinggradually inclined from its apex to the higher portion of the same,substantially as shown, and for the purposes described.

2. The two switch-frogs of astreetrailway, each having its lowerportion, upon which the flange of the wheel is adapted to run, made withits upper surface on the same level throughout its entire length andgradually widened until it reaches the projecting guide or frog proper,said guide being gradually inclined from its apex to the higher portionof the same, the incline ofone frog merging into the higher portion ofthe brauch rail, and the incline of the other frog merging into thehigher portion of a continuation of the main rail, all substantially asshown, and for the purposes described.

3. The double switclrfrog or stationary switch, all cast in one piece,each frog having itslower portion, upon which the flange ot' the wheelis adapted to run, made with its upper surface on the same levelthroughout its entire length and gradually widened until it reaches theprojecting guide or frog proper, said guide being gradually inclinedfrom the apex to the higher portion of the same, the incline of one frogmerging into the higher portion of the branch rail, and the incline ofthe other frog merging into the higher portion of a continuation of themain rail, all substantially as shown, and for the purposes described.

4. A switch-frog for a street-railway, having the higher portion orilange of the same lower than the flange of the main rail` and havingits lower portion gradually widened until it reaches the projectingguide or frog proper, said guide being gradually inclined from its apexto the higher portion of the same, and the iiange of the frog also beinggradually inclined opposite to the incline of the projecting guide tocorrespond with said incline, all substantially as shown, and for thepurposes described.

JOHN HOPE, JR. lVitnesses:

DAvrn G. HAsKINs, Jr., PENNINGTON HALsTED.

